Hi all

Was out in the Fabia this evening (it’s a low spec 1.2HTP - no front fogs, don’t think there’s anything fancy with the headlights it has), driving down quite a few unlit country roads. TBH, prior to inheriting the car, I had mostly only ever driven it in the daytime or, if driving at night, in areas that actually had street lighting. So, the fact the bulbs in the headlights are about as useful as two tealights, I need to do something about it. Need to fit something much brighter.
 

I had the same issue 10 years ago when I bought the Spaceback. But also mindful that bulb tech has hopefully improved in that time, not to mention the possibility of LED bulbs.

So, my questions are:

 

1) recommendations pleas for the brightest conventional halogen bulbs to fit to the car.

2) does anyone have experience of replacing the conventional bulbs (I think they are H7s in these, need to pull one and check) with LED equivalents? Are there any that are any good, do they fit, how did you deal with the extra cable and/or transformer box that some seem to have?

 

Not an issue I have with the Superb, which has factory LED headlights that are like someone has captured a pair of neutron stars in a pair of headlights. But I really need to improve the headlight performance on the Fabia. Genuinely concerned driving it this evening in the dark.

 

Thanks

Chris

@chrisgreen

1. Osram "Nightbreakers" in the latest spec, I think "++".
2. Illegal on a car this new (post 1988), unless you also fit self-levelling kit and headlight washers (if not already installed).
3. Er, "neutron stars" would emit no light in the human visible range.

1 hour ago, Paws4Thot said:

@chrisgreen

1. Osram "Nightbreakers" in the latest spec, I think "++".
2. Illegal on a car this new (post 1988), unless you also fit self-levelling kit and headlight washers (if not already installed).
3. Er, "neutron stars" would emit no light in the human visible range.

 

3. Yes it would, it would be like a white dwarf, still very hot indeed!

I find the headlights on my Fabia sh*te. Worst headlights I have had on a car in 40 years

Projector lens type but with halogen bulbs?

 

Those ones on my MK2 Octavia were appalling, worseeven than a 6v VW campervan with bad earthing and a slipping dynamo drive belt.

Grabbed a pic of my headlights for reference. Couldn’t get any of the bulbs out as it’s freezing out there and I was struggling a bit with my hands trying to I clip them.

 

Was looking at the Nightbreakers. Seems the latest conventional ones are the Nightbreaker 220, which the Osram site suggests are not compatible with the car (which seems odd - available in the usual H4 and H7 varieties). Osram's bulb checker is saying the Nightbreaker 200 is as high as I can go. Doesn't sound right, wondering if the bulb checker just hasn't been updated. Anyone know?

53 minutes ago, chrisgreen said:

Grabbed a pic of my headlights for reference. Couldn’t get any of the bulbs out as it’s freezing out there and I was struggling a bit with my hands trying to I clip them.

 

 

You have the chocolate teapot projector lamps.

 

Mine were greatly improved by my fitting an HID conversion but the legality of it is questionable and they needed setting much lower than the CT (MOT) machine to avoid dazzling oncoming motorists, even then it happened occasionally.

 

The headlights on my Yeti, just a clear lens with standard halogen bulb are like night and day compared to the projector lens on the MK2.

15 minutes ago, J.R. said:

 

You have the chocolate teapot projector lamps.

 

Mine were greatly improved by my fitting an HID conversion but the legality of it is questionable and they needed setting much lower than the CT (MOT) machine to avoid dazzling oncoming motorists, even then it happened occasionally.

 

The headlights on my Yeti, just a clear lens with standard halogen bulb are like night and day compared to the projector lens on the MK2.

Yeah, I don't think it's worth the cost or effort to try and do a HID conversion on a 12-year-old entry-level Fabia II. Similarly, not worth the risk of rendering the headlights illegal. Would be just my luck that I would get nicked for them. Am I likely to see any meaningful improvement if I swap these out for a set of, say, the latest Nightbreakers?

Check the engine-running voltage across the battery. 

Brightness of incandescent bulbs goes up with the square of applied voltage,  so you would prefer not to have a lossy charging system.

What year is the car?

48 minutes ago, Breezy_Pete said:

What year is the car?

2012

1 hour ago, Breezy_Pete said:

Check the engine-running voltage across the battery. 

Brightness of incandescent bulbs goes up with the square of applied voltage,  so you would prefer not to have a lossy charging system.

 

Good point, after doing the HID conversion I found there was a parameter in VCDS to adjust the headlight voltage, the default was set low for increased bulb life.

 

The long coding parameter is called headlight dimming, if it is set to "inactive" then the headlamps will receive the full alternator regulated voltage, they will be brighter but will dim at tickover, better IMO than being dim all the time like me!!!

 

Those pathetic projector lamps need all the help they can get.

That's why I was asking the year. I had a quick glance at circuits, and I think I concluded that Chris's car predates such BCM involvement. Not fully sure on that though.

I've gone ahead and taken a punt on a pair of Nightbreaker 220 H7s to go in the so-called projector part of the headlamps. Arriving tomorrow (Wednesday). Hopefully they will make some difference.

 

The other two bulbs in there, I know the tiny one is a W5W, but the one next to it, is that another H7 or a H4?

9 minutes ago, chrisgreen said:

is that another H7 or a H4?

One element or 2?

19 minutes ago, Paws4Thot said:

One element or 2?

I don't know - there's three bulbs in the headlight. I know the one in the projetor bit on the outside edge is a H7 fitment, and the tiny one is a W5W. No idea of the size or spec of the remaining bulb alas, hence the question.

They will both be H7 bulbs.

1 hour ago, Simon TDI Sport said:

They will both be H7 bulbs.

Thanks

If the 1.2 is anything like my sons then the headlights could be needing polished. His were going a bit yellow and slightly cloudy. I changed for new standard H7 bulbs and cleaned/polished them as it was an advise on the previous MOT and it made a big difference. I also find that over time halogen bulbs seem to lose their brightness with age. I have tried 150% and 200% brighter bulbs in the past and yes there brighter but don't seem to last as long. Worth keeping a standard spare in Gbox. Might be worth getting the alignment checked as well. His were very low and the friendly guy at MOT tweeked them up a bit. Still not the best but a lot better. Was thinking of fitting some driving lamps where the front fogs should be.

Alasdair

13 minutes ago, Alasdair1 said:

If the 1.2 is anything like my sons then the headlights could be needing polished. His were going a bit yellow and slightly cloudy. I changed for new standard H7 bulbs and cleaned/polished them as it was an advise on the previous MOT and it made a big difference. I also find that over time halogen bulbs seem to lose their brightness with age. I have tried 150% and 200% brighter bulbs in the past and yes there brighter but don't seem to last as long. Worth keeping a standard spare in Gbox. Might be worth getting the alignment checked as well. His were very low and the friendly guy at MOT tweeked them up a bit. Still not the best but a lot better. Was thinking of fitting some driving lamps where the front fogs should be.

Alasdair

Hi - alignment is fine and the car sailed through its MOT last month. The outer lenses are also - surprisingly - in tip top condition, no cloudiness or haze, no condensation inside. As for the opaque lens over the projector lamp fitting, it doesn't appear to have degraded, but no idea how or if it could be removed to do any work on it without separating the entire headlight (won't be doing that any time soon).

Plenty of spare standard bulbs to hand and I keep a Lidl set in the boot, so emergency need is covered. TBH I have lost track of how old the bulbs are in the headlights currently, so it could be that they have simply degraded over time. But given the stock headlight bulbs in my Rapid were just as bad, I suspect it's more down to whatever bulbs are in there being rubbish and/or being impacted by this headlight design.

Won't be doing any mods like fitting additional lights - the car was my mum's up until she died, so won't be messing with any significant modifications. The only things I've done to to it have been fitting a stick-on phone holder (so completely non-destructive and reversible) and one of those 10inch widescreen Carplay additional screens - got one very cheap during the Black Friday sale (again, stick on mount so non-destructive and reversible) and it not only looks very good and tidy in the car (barely any visible cable (about a foot, after which I've made it disappear behind the dash, running to a hidden 12v socket by the fuse box), it adds some much needed modern tech without having to swap out the factory Amundsen nav (which I actually retrofitted in place of the Swing radio when mum first bought the car). It also interoperates well with the Amundsen, as the phone connects to the carplay screen via wifi, and still connects to the Amundsen via bluetooth for audio and calls output.

I used to have a stock from lidl. They were good bulbs but my lidl only seems to have H4 these days. Spoke to my MOT tester mate  and he said try Phillips Xtremevision pro150. He fits them to his cars and reckons they are about the best for the money he has come accross. £25-£30 per pair. He did say that the headlights have to be alligned properly as they are a good bit brighter. 

10 minutes ago, Alasdair1 said:

I used to have a stock from lidl. They were good bulbs but my lidl only seems to have H4 these days. Spoke to my MOT tester mate  and he said try Phillips Xtremevision pro150. He fits them to his cars and reckons they are about the best for the money he has come accross. £25-£30 per pair. He did say that the headlights have to be alligned properly as they are a good bit brighter. 

I've already gone ahead and ordered the Nightbreaker 220s - they are coming at some point today, so we'll see how they perform. If they are not up to the job I'll definitely give he Philips ones a try.

Fitted the Nightbreaker 220s on Saturday - has made a significant difference over what I believe were the factory Philips bulbs that I removed. Was driving on some very dark roads in Surrey on Saturday night, and had much better visibility.

10 hours ago, chrisgreen said:

Fitted the Nightbreaker 220s on Saturday - has made a significant difference over what I believe were the factory Philips bulbs that I removed. Was driving on some very dark roads in Surrey on Saturday night, and had much better visibility.

Good to hear. Had two blow over 24hours yesterday. Going to pick up a coupe today. Unusual for both to go but thats cars for you. Have been using 150% but might try the 220s. Problem I have is seeing verge on the roads around here when cars come towards you with superbright LED. They seem to cancel out halogen plus they just resurfaced our road and theres no markings (been about 2 months) and the tarmac they used seems to absorb headlights and not much grip. I reckon they used the wrong grade as we now have danger slippy road signs for about 2 miles on the corner sections.

Alasdair